Hass Hamdan Opens Up On His Arrest, Heavyweight Water Bombed, Boxing Barista Eyeing National Title
Hass Hamdan, a rising boxer star who was arrested last month while watching his brother compete in an amateur contest, has now opened up about the incident.
Hass Hamdan has broken his silence following his arrest one month ago, saying that he wants to utilise his fight on the undercard of Tim Tszyu's bout on Sunday to put everything in the past and go on with his life.
On September 24, Hamdan was taken into custody for an incident that occurred while he was watching his brother participate in an amateur event in Sydney.
After an incident in which he allegedly threw a water bottle at a ringside boxing official, Hamdan was charged with common assault. Hamdan's father Nader is a legendary figure in Australian boxing.
This Thursday, the 25-year-old man who won the Australian super lightweight title in June spoke about his arrest, adding that he simply wants to move on with his career and put the incident behind him.
"When I won the title, I only got a small five centimeter write up, but I had a little hiccup outside of boxing, and there's a whole page with my face on it," he told this masthead. "When I lost the title, I only got a small five centimetre write up." "It's an opportunity for personal growth.
I've made a mistake that I really shouldn't have, but I'm learning new things every day on the job. If I keep making the same error, people are going to think I'm an idiot, but I promise I'll get better from it.
"It happened, and I can't change the past; all I can do is dictate the future, and if I'm on my best behavior, in the gym, and listening to the people around me who care about me, then I'll go a long way," she said. "I can't change the past."
Jeff Fenech, Hamdan's trainer and a future Hall of Famer, claims the incident was exaggerated.
Fenech told this masthead, "We've got so many witnesses saying this guy was swearing at Hass, telling him to, 'Get the f**k out of the corner,' and just being aggressive."
Hass's brother is in the midst of a heated argument; the two of them are pounding the snot out of each other.
Hass takes up a water bottle, aims to hurl it, but it instead flies out of his hand and strikes the man.
If that counts as assault, then things are looking grim.
Hass called to apologise to the public. He feels terrible about what he did, but it was an emotional reaction to hearing his brother being verbally abused in a heated argument.
According to Hamdan, his grandfather also spoke with him privately.
Hass, you are in the eye now, you are my kid, and you are trained by Jeff, he just stated that. "He just said that," he added.
"I've got a bit of a reputation to keep up with," the speaker said.
When Hamdan fights Danvers Cuschieri on the undercard of Tszyu's defense of his WBO super-welterweight world title, he will have the first opportunity to make amends and put things in the right direction.
The long-simmering animosity between Fenech and Danvers' trainer Ben Savva came to a head this week, which caused the pre-fight tension to threaten to boil over all week; nevertheless, Hamdan is solely focused on the task at hand.
"They can scream and shout from the outside, but they can't fight for us," Hamdan added. "They can't fight for us."
"It's going to be me versus Danvers in there, and I'm going to show him how it's done."
Heavyweight hitter water bombed
Toese Vousiutu is the scariest man in a deck full of terrifying characters.
Vousiutu, who faces Julius Long on Sunday in a knockout bout, hasn't scared away a single stupid gambler thus far this week.
On Thursday night, while ready to begin his open workout at the Pacific Fair shopping mall, Vousiutu was pelted with a water balloon from an upper-level balcony.
The assailant made the day's lone astute decision by making a hasty exit before the projectile could strike Vousiutu and his group.
The only people left to divert Vousiutu's angry gaze away from them were a cluster of punters who appeared to be completely innocent but were showing clear signs of anxiety.
Vousiutu made a lighthearted remark to this masthead, saying, "I think they recognised me from Melbourne. They know I'm not used to the heat, and they tried to cool us down a bit."
"As long as they don't do it in front of my face, that's the main thing," she said. "That's the most important thing."
Boxing barista eyeing national title
On Sunday, Indigenous boxer Amber Amelia will make history when she challenges Shanell Dargan for the Australian super bantamweight championship.
This will be the first time two female boxers compete for a belt that has been redesigned to include the Indigenous flag of Australia.
After a vote by the Australian National Boxing Federation last year, all championship belts now feature the Indigenous flag.
Amelia, who lives in Newcastle and works as a barista in addition to her training, is planning to use the championship shot as the next step on the path to winning a world title.
"In addition to working out, I also brew coffee. She told this masthead, "That's pretty much all there is to my life." "My objective is to become a world champion in my field.
"My first goal is to win the title in Australia, and then I'll work my way up from there."